Dexter Cattle For Sale Discussion Board

Hi everyone, I am desperately trying to get my head around hiring our young red bull Rattycombe Arnold and making a complete hash of it. I have had some phone calls but when I state that the hirer will need to cover the TB test I am told this is unusual. My bull is not due to be tested until November and my vet will charge me £40 to visit and test before then. I think I intend to charge £25 per service for a period of 6 weeks. Can someone please explain how this should work please

From a very green Dexter owner

It should at least cover it's costs otherwise what's the point? OK you pay the TB test if you wish, but to offset that you'd need a higher rate than £25. I'd say £25 is far too cheap. They can't have it both ways.

Risky business sending a bull out in my view. He could bring something back you don't want. My vet says with the test, TB's the least of your worries.

Hi Clive I agree with you. I asked around and the standard cost was quoted as £25, perhaps the cost has been a standard £25 for years and the increase in costs have not been taken into account. I experienced exactly the same thing with my Gloucester Old Spot boar and in the end it was just not worth the hassle. The reaon for having Arnie in the first place was because AI was only successful on one of girls. Perhaps if I find him a young steer to keep him company I can move him away from the cows for a while and forget hiring him out

Quite apart from the health risk, are you sure that your vet will only charge £40 for a pre-movement TB test? Our vet charges £90 as there are two visits involved, even though they each take less than 5 minutes. It makes a complete nonsense of the £25 charge unless the hirer is going to serve quite a number of cows.

£25 per animal served seems a normal rate, but as others have already said unless the hirer is going to serve lots of animals you need to cover the cost of the TB test as well.

It is getting harder to find people willing to hire out bulls and I can fully understand why when the financial benefit is minimal and more than out weighted by the animal health risks.

I can give you details of last year's costs: The bull owner stood the cost of his TB test and charged me £30 per cow served. I've just taken delivery of the same bull last week, but won't know this year's prices until he goes.

Vets have several different methods of charging for private TB tests. Last year, my vets were charging £22 per visit (plus vat) and £1 (plus vat) per cow tested (and £1 per cow for reading three days later). That didn't seem so bad until they told me that there was a minimum charge of £17 plus vat (i.e. 17 minutes' worth) for testing, irrespective of the number of animals to be tested. This makes a mockery of someone who only has one or two to test, and who has them in and ready to go through the crush. Testing just one animal would have ended up not far short of £100. No doubt it'll be more this year. I'm not sure how much my hire bull's owners pay for their private TB test, but I know it's nowhere near as much as what I was quoted.

Incidentally, I'm certainly not anti-vet - I used to be one!

Best of luck,

Ryan
http://www.cilwg.co.uk

Hi,
I hire out bulls occasionly and the hirer always pays the tb test fee, the same if I sell something privately, but obviously this has to be reflected in the price.